VIDEO ROOM

Video Room has been serving the Piedmont Avenue neighborhood since 1988. We carry a large selection of movies on DVD and have an ever growing Blu-ray library. We specialize in hard-to-find and obscure cult classics, TV shows, foreign cinema, and film noir, in addition to the latest new releases. Check out our large Directors section and offbeat categories that make us unique. Kids and dogs are welcome. Senior discounts available. We do same day reservations. Free parking. Hours: Sunday-Thurday, 12pm-8pmFriday-Saturday, 12pm-9pm

Friday, June 29, 2012

July 3, 2012

Blu-ray:

Wrath of the Titans [Sam Worthington returns as Perseus, half God half human,in this sequel to the much maligned 2010 remake Clash of the Titans. Although this received mixed reviews, it is actually a very good fantasy action epic that is much better than the original. With a more streamlined plot and more interesting characters, it succeeds where the first one failed. Perseus is visited by his God father Zeus (Liam Neeson), who asks him to help battle Hades (Ralph Fiennes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), who has released the Titans, including the evil Chronos, from prison in order to destroy the world and all of the Gods. He refuses because he wants to be left alone to fish and raise his son, but when Hades kidnaps Zeus and threatens to kill him, he has to battle various creatures and literally go to hell to save his son and the world. Worthington is appropriately heroic and more at ease in this sequel, adding a touch of welcome humor. However, the film is stolen by Rosamund Pike (the striking 007 villainess from Die Another Day) as the ballsy and gorgeous warrior queen Andromeda, Toby Kebbell (Prince of Persia) as Poseidon's likeable and wily son, and Bill Nighy (Love, Actually, Underworld Evolution) as a wonderfully eccentric weapon maker. Edgar Ramirez and Danny Huston also are solid. The scene where Worthington, Pike and Kebbell descend into a labyrinthian Rube Goldbergesque hell is a major highlight. In addition to the usual state of the art CGI effects and epic battles, Fiennes and Neeson have much meatier parts this time out, which helps immensely. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman. 2012.]

DVDs:

Cinderella Story, A: Once Upon a Song [Cinderella is updated again in this family friendly movie that teen and tween girls love. Lucy Hale (TV's Pretty Little Liars) stars as a talented teen who dreams of becoming a singing star but is constantly thwarted by her mean stepmother and stepsister. Things get even more complex when she falls for the new boy at her performing arts school, but love and goodness when out in the end. Missi Pyle, Megan Park (TV's The Secret Life of an American Teenager), and Freddie Stroma also star in this fun TV movie.]

Damages: Season 4 [Glenn Close and Rose Byrne return in this excellent attorney series shown on DirecTV. This time they are out to nail a private security firm doing nasty Afghan business. Dylan Baker and John Goodman guest star. 2011.]

Detective Montalbano: Episodes 4-9 [Luca Zingaretti reprises his title role in this popular Italian crime TV series. Episode #4: The Mystery of the Terracotta Dog. #5: The Artist's Touch. #6: A Trip to Tindari. #7: The Sense of Touch. #8: Montalabano's Croquttes. #9: The Scent of the Night.]

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone [Laurence Fishburne narrates this rollicking 2011 music documentary about the all-Black rock band Fishbone. Directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler.]

Hedgehog, The [Moving and elegant French dramedy about a young girl who plans to commit suicide on her 12th birthday because she does not like how adults tend to behave. When she discovers the grumpy consierge in her apartment has a secret library, she begins to understand that not everything in life is as it seems, giving her hope. Starring Josiane Balasko, Garance Le Guillermic, Togo Igawa, Anne Brochet, and Ariane Ascaride. Directed by Mona Achache. 2012.]

Le Grand Voyage [In this offbeat 2004 French road trip drama, a Muslim college student commits to driving his father 3000 miles on his hajj to Mecca, revealing their differences. Film Movement.]

Le Quattro Volte [Michaelangelo Frammartino directed this beautifully mystical and existential drama that traces the path one one goat herder's soul as it passes from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. 2011.]

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia [Fascinating Turkish noir with a police commissioner, a prosecutor, a doctor and a murder suspect in a car looking for a dead body at night. Details about the murder and their own secrets emerge as they search, Directed by Bilge Ceylan. 2011.]

Simon Schama: Rough Crossings [Fascinating BBC film ahout the African-American slaves, who fought for Britain and their freedom during the Revolutionary War. Written and presented by Simon Schama. Directed by Steven Conde. 2009.]

Something's Gonna Live: Conversations with Six Great Hollywood Cinema Artists on Film Classics [Cinema artists and friends discuss the making of some of Hollywood's best films: Art directors Robert Boyle (North by Northwest, The Birds), Henry Bumstead (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting and Albert Nozaki (1953's The War of the Worlds The Ten Commandments); storyboard artist Harold Michelson (The Graduate, Star Trek: The Motion Picture), and cinematographers Haskell Wexler (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Medium Cool) and Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, In Cold Blood). Directed by Daniel Raim.2010.]

Thunder Soul [Moving musical documentary about "Prof" Johnson, a high school bandleader who turned a ragtag jazz band into a funk powerhouse. Decades later, the students return to honor the Prof. Directed by Mark Landsman.]

Wilfred: Season 1 [In this cult TV comedy, Elijah Wood stars as a hapless lawyer who forms a bond with his sexy neighbor's dog. However, while everyone else just sees a dog, he sees a spaced out Australian bloke in a dog suit! Jason Gann plays the dog. 2011.] Wrath of the Titans

Poirot: Series 5 [More beautiful remasters of the great Agatha Christie series in broadcast order for the first time. Starring David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson and Pauline Moran. Disc 1=The Adventures of the Egyptian Tomb, The Underdog, Yellow Iris, The Case of the Missing Will, Disc 2=The Adventure of the Italian Notebook, The Chocolate Box, Dead Man's Mirror, and Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan. 1993.]